Poppy Hills Golf Course

front 9 went well. seemed like a foursome cut in front of our foursome on the back nine and slowed the pace to a crawl , the ladies behind us left because it was too slow.

Very disappointed in how course enforced COVID guidelines. Shut down Clubhouse yet would not allow me to ride alone in my cart despite charging each rider $25 for the cart. I don't have a problem with the fees just find it ridiculous that I was forced to ride with another player despite 6 foot social distancing signs posted throughout the course. Think this decision is more revenue based and done so with complete disregard for the players safety.

Played front 9 in 2-1/2 hours. Played 10-13 in 2-1/2 hours at which time I gave up. Group in front of me also left and 2 people playing in my foursome also gave up. On way back to clubhouse, saw foursome holding everything up with empty holes in front of them. No marshalls. I did talk to a marshall halfway through the front 9 who advised “whole course was jammed up”. I hesitate to play here again after this.

This was by far the most poorly managed and run golf course I've ever been to. The people who work here clearly have an inferiority complex with some of the other courses in this area. Rude staff, no customer service or appreciation... they won't even let a solo rider take a golf cart (during COVID-19).... they force you to ride with another person in your golf cart, clearly violating the CDC rules and California guidelines for COVID-19. They even had signage which said "only 1 person per golf cart".... but for some bizarre reason they refused to adhere to their own signage and force you to jam into a cart with another person.. . The funniest part, there was no one else even playing the course and the golf carts were lined up like it was an abandoned muni course... I guess all of the other golfers in the area have learned their lesson as well and avoid this place at all costs. Do yourself a favor and go play some other great courses in the area at the same price point (with very friendly staff) like Carmel Valley Ranch and Quail Lodge.

Great time to come and golf In Carmel area
The weather still good and the greens are rolling well and the fairways are in great condition

After playing this course for the first time all I can say is wow! The Layout is fantastic, Course conditions are great, and the greens are fun with huge undulations. No rough, except for near the bunkers, means you can get away with some errors off the tee, but your irons and wedges need to be dialed in, as the greens are a great challenge. Fairways are wide and sloping, but tend to narrow down to try to discourage from simply hitting bombs all day. There are several holes that offer risk-reward from the tee where carrying certain bunkers or hills can result in getting an extra 30-50 yards of roll. Pay attention to the pin position and the shape of the greens, as simply hitting the middle of the green might leave a slippery putt that can easily end in frustration as it runs off the green. Several holes have slopes to the side of the green that you can use to run the ball towards the hole, depending on the hole location. I found most bunkers to be a decent miss, as they were in great condition with consistently soft sand that made them easy to play out of, so long as you aren't plugged.

Something that can't be quantified is the atmosphere at Poppy Hills. I found myself at peace as I meandered through the course, masterfully woven into the transcendent Del Monte Forest. With the quiet of the forest and the company of resident deer, I felt like I was in another world as I watched the shadows slowly dance their way lower and lower until I teed off on 18 in near darkness. After not finding my approach to the green and I guessed where I thought it went and gave myself a free drop. I chipped onto the green and two putted to finish with par and said out loud to my audience of nobody "Wow, what a great course".

My friend brought me here, and we had a great time. This was a very playable course; nothing overly difficult at all.

Customer service was a Little strange. We had to ask for things that I really wouldn’t have expected. For example, we had to ask for a scorecard, and then after being given the card, we had to ask for a pencil. For the cost, I would think that we’d be provided what we need. At a minimum, they should ask if we’d like a card. We weren’t told anything about what amenities were and were not available, how to get over to the first hole (because we didn’t have a map/layout), etc.

Another strange issue was that they decided to put some kind of foam on the course the morning we played. There were hundreds of small white [foam] spots throughout the course, and it was almost impossible to see where our balls were landing. I get that they have to maintain the course, but it was an inconvenience for us on that morning. It wouldn’t keep me from going back.

I’ve payed less money for nicer courses, but was happy to play here. If you haven’t played here, definitely try it once.

What a great course, played from the 3 poppy’s and made the exciting.

Look, the course layout is great. But the greens were punched a week ago and they charge $25 per bag on the cart on top of the greens fee. $50 for one cart is utter insanity. Full price 1 week post aeration too. Feel quite a bit ripped off on that front.

Fairways were in spectacular shape. Greens still quite bumpy. Will be back again and will probably walk the course like I usually do. Not my favorite course, but still quite decent.

Our group took our annual Pebble Beach trip. We played Pebble twice, Spyglass, and Poppy. Treated like kings at Pebble and Spyglass. Poppy Hills a different story. First thing we noticed when arriving was another player arguing with staff about the range being closed. No problem for us, we just played 18 at Pebble. They were very short with this customer and he left very upset. The clubhouse was closed, they said because of Covid. Pebble and Spyglass were completely open. They made everyone double up on carts, not Pebble and Spyglass. The greens were sanded and never mentioned it. We can all deal with these things, but the attitude of all the employees was terrible!!!! Thats why this poor review.

The course is in perfect condition. Nice fairways and layout. The green was aerated but the course did notify me in advance. The green fee is reasonable with the NCGA members rate.
This is one of my favorite courses and will definitely come back again.

Rode the 3 Poppy tees (6400/71.2/135) in slightly under 4H twilight as a single on a GN Hot Deal. Played through one 4some then was stuck behind a walking 4some until they quit. POP was NOT an issue, as I was taking pictures and enjoying every minute of this place! 60 and overcast with a 0-2 club breeze throughout made for a nice experience.

WOW is the best one word descriptor I can come up with. I play alot of golf at courses all over California. Other than Rams Hill when it first opened and Pebble Beach a few months ago, I have never experienced conditions like this... and in my opinion, these were slightly better than those. So what I am saying is that in 45+ years of golfing, this was the best conditioned course I have ever played.

Lush and green throughout. They had a 2 man team fixing divots on the tee boxes. There were probably less than 2 dozen fresh tee divots on the entire course. They had a man out fixing divots in the fairways. Cuts around the greens, tees and sand traps were finely manicured.

Tees were just immaculate. Thick poa cut down, I putted on many tees to pass the time after I had my pictures. How good were they? They putted better than some courses greens I have played this year.

Fairways also immaculate, mowed down and firm. They played really well with thick, brown sand/dirt underneath if you took a large divot.

Rough was lush/thick. If you missed the fairway by 1', it was the difference in going for the green and advancing a shorter club for a player of my skill level. The ball almost always sat down, you often could not see your ball from 10 yards away.

Traps were large and plentiful. Exceptionally well maintained with thick lighter sand over darker sand underneath. Large, expansive waste areas on many holes were natural but cleaned up and added to the beauty of many holes IMO.

Greens I loved! You could make large ball marks and back up balls in places, but they were mostly firm. These were beyond medium fast, they were quick. Downhill putts would creep and creep. If not careful that putt you thought you nestled up for a tap in would be 6-8' coming back. Had three 3 putts and still had an excellent putting day overall. They rolled great.

Loved the RTJ, Jr. layout. Fairways much wider than I suspected going in, this is not a tight course, but I say that on a day I was hitting it better than average. If you get off line, huge, thick trees await. First time in a good while I played multiple shots off pine needles. That, coupled with the outlying sandy areas and mostly playing around no homes surrounded by thick trees actually reminded me of Pinehurst. Areas around the greens were mowed down close, I used a putter several times from 10+ yards off the green up over raised mounds to tight pins. Speaking of pins, not sure if they had a tournament that morning, but these were tournament pins. There was about 1 pin set in the middle, most others were just a few paces on the green. Up/down rolling hills, large greens that were fair with moderate amounts of undulation. Very peaceful, no ocean views and some nice house closeby, but most of the time you were away from everything just playing in the forest with lots of wildlife joining you.

I was running late because of the fog and called ahead. Kudos to Benjamin, he had me rearranged and everything set up to go out later. Very friendly cart attendant and maintenance staff, saw the drink gal a couple of times. Highly recommended, really look forward to my next round here.

Slow pace of play . No course Marshall . Greens on course not same pace as practice green . All holes basically the same layout . Flags all tucked behind bunkers . Pretty venue . Just disappointed with overall layout .

Hats off to the maintenance crew and course sup. for keeping the course in fantastic condition. It’s a bit of a strange time for everyone right now. Bearing that, interactions with the greeter or check-in personnel could be warmer and a bit more welcoming. It would also be nice for management to send a welcome email with updated information for first-time visitors (e.g. $25 just to put a bag on a cart wasn’t a nice surprise). Glad that the food quality was on point even during this time. Overall, it was a nice outing and would come back for the course (now that we know what to expect and how to deal with the check-in staff).

Course is in as close to perfect shape as I have ever seen it. Pace of play was just a little slower than last time but still just over 4 hrs.
Make the trip if you can!!